Finding Foundation
by storywriter30
Summary: No fiber of his being thought she was dead and Tali needed her mother. And so they would find her.
1. Part I

**_A_ /N: I just can't stay away from these two. Plus, I had to give my own post Family First a try. **

* * *

_Sometime Soon_

She heard Tali first.

Her exclamations of glee and wonder at the world were unmistakable. The noise filtered its way down the windy dirt road and from her seat in the back yard, Ziva did not miss it. That was her baby girl.

They had _found_ her.

She rose slowly, afraid of moving too suddenly and breaking this illusion of perfection that was in front of her. Ziva walked to the top of the deck in an attempt to see them at the crescent of the road.

What she saw was not a distant Father returning his biological child back to her mother, but rather, she saw a little girl and her Dad together, searching for something they weren't sure would be found. They were a family. They were _her_ family.

One of Tali's sandals slipped off her feet, but the little girl continued on unfazed, her curls bouncing in the wind and covering her face. Tony, only steps behind, reached down and picked the shoe off the road, slipping it inside his pocket without much notice.

Ziva's eyes welled. She had long feared that her own insecurities had irrevocably damaged Tony and Tali's relationship. But watching this scene from afar, she knew now that those fears had been unfounded.

For a moment, she wondered if it would be best to just leave them be. She carried the potential of so much danger with her. They'd be better without her.

But then she heard them open the gate and the small stones crackled under their feet as they made their way down the gravel driveway and even if she thought running was in their best interest, she was powerless to act.

They had _found_ her.

"I think this is it, Tali." Tony picked his little girl off of the ground and slung her onto his hip. He asked her if she was ready, but Ziva sensed he was talking to himself.

And so she pushed the gate open and walked around the house to greet them.

* * *

 _Before Then_

His back ached and his hips popped as he pushed himself off of his hardwood floors. He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting on the ground next to the portable crib that Jimmy and Breena had given him but his body told him that it had been _far_ too long.

Tali had been happy all day, her smile wide and her giggles contagious. Senior _was_ right. His confidence, boosted by the fact that his daughter clearly knew who he was, made her more comfortable and happy to be with him. She had relaxed _just_ enough.

But then bedtime came around and nothing could soothe the little girl. Four days away from her mother was more than she'd ever endured and it was all so overwhelming. She just looked so scared.

That, and Tony assumed she was probably just a _little bit_ jet lagged. He didn't think that international flights and two years old got along well.

Whatever the cause, Tali cried and cried for hours – just _wailing_ for Ziva. And all Tony knew how to do was hold her close and say, "me too, baby girl, _me too_." He ran his fingers through her hair and rubbed circles on her back, but he wasn't Ziva. They both knew that.

Tony had put her in her crib once she'd quieted down. A kiss to her forehead and a long stare at his little girl, who he'd known nothing about two days ago, he thought she had finally passed out.

He was ready to himself.

But every time he went to walk away and go to his own bed, she began to whimper and Tony knew that an onslaught of tears were on their way. It broke his heart. And so that was how he found himself finally pushing his screaming body off of the floor at some ungodly hour in the morning. She was _finally_ asleep.

* * *

Gibbs released Tony from his hug and with one final pat to the head – something that the second time still felt just a little _too_ unnatural for Tony's liking – and Tony turned and headed for the stairs. He needed to get home. He and Tali had an early flight in the morning.

Halfway up the stairs, he paused and turned back to Gibbs. The man was already back sanding his newest vessel. Tony briefly wondered who its namesake would be.

"She called me Abba the other day." Tony mentioned.

Gibbs turned and smiled at him. "Ziver," was all he said.

Tony nodded and then continued up the stairs. He didn't know when he'd be back in Gibbs' house. He wanted Tali to know him and for him to know her. He meant so much to he and Ziva – in the good times and the bad. But there was so much to sort out first.

He had told Gibbs that – in not so many words. His old Boss preferred it that way. What he had not told Gibbs, what he had left out, was that he was now almost sure that the things that needed sorting were between he and Ziva.

Real, living and breathing Ziva.

The night they had caught and killed Trent Kort, Tony hadn't been able to sleep. Senior had known that would be that way and he had offered to stay, but Tony wanted to be alone. Alone with Tali, that is. This was his life now.

He had sat on the couch for hours just going through the two bags of things that she had. He didn't want her or any of her things to feel foreign. She was his and he was hers. They were going to do this.

He'd gone to prop the photograph of him and Ziva on the coffee table when the back had come lose, the photo sliding out. It had two missing screws.

And that was how he found it.

There were the numbers, staring back at him in her perfect, but rushed scroll.

It had taken him only twenty minutes to turn it into a phone number. The one of the hotel that they had stayed in while in Paris bringing Nora Williams home all those years ago. Ziva David wasn't staying there, but with a stroke of magic or divine intervention Sophie Ranier was.

He didn't ask for her room because some part of him told him that, that was not part of her plan and so instead, he had booked two plane tickets to Paris for two days later.

Tony shut Gibbs' door behind him and drove back to his apartment with only his own thoughts. The roads were clear – it was approaching midnight. He had waited until Tali was asleep before leaving.

He should have noticed the extra shadow in his living room window. Tony had made it a habit to always know what was behind his front door, but he had been lost in his own thoughts. And so when he opened his door, he was surprised to see McGee sitting on his couch, chatting quietly with Senior.

Tony sighed and rolled his eyes. "Really, Dad?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, Junior." He said. "But he called while you were out and I couldn't help but tell him that the two of you were leaving in the morning."

"I don't have a house phone."

"I called Senior." McGee supplied. He stood. "I wanted to know how you two were doing."

Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Tali and I are fine."

"And I wanted to see if you needed help in Paris."

Tony sighed again and looked toward his Father. Senior took that as a good time to go check on Tali and he disappeared into the other room.

Tony sat down on the couch and pulled the picture out of his pocket. He waited for McGee to join him before handing it McGee and telling him to flip it over.

McGee stared at the numbers before asking, "Phone number?"

Tony nodded. "I didn't tell Senior because he'd end up on my flight. He loves Tali and Ziva and me and he just wants to help, but I have to do this on my own."

"He'd said you needed some peace – that was why you were going to Paris, but I knew there was more to it." McGee handed the photo back to his friend.

"And he does, too." Tony responded. "But he's looking the other way."

"Have you thought of the alternatives?" McGee asked. "That she wrote the number at the time. Just to remember where you'd been."

"That's not Ziva." Tony said. He paused and stared at the photo before continuing. "Plus, I called. Sophie Ranier is checked in."

Tim's eyes went wide and he turned his body fully towards Tony. "Sophie?" he confirmed. "As in…"

Tony nodded. "She's there. She is."

McGee nodded and they sat in silence for a while. Tony knew how many thoughts were swirling through his head. After several minutes, Tim rose from the couch and headed for the door. Tony followed him.

"I miss her." Tim said. "Tell her that."

"I will." Tony agreed.

"I'd be there if you need anything."

Tony smiled, a rare genuine smile that he rarely let McGee see. "I know. Thanks, Tim."

* * *

Senior set Tony's suitcase on the sidewalk and looked wearily at his son. He was busy buckling Tali into her stroller.

"I guess this is it," Senior said. He looked down at Tali. "I'm going to miss her."

"We'll all be back as soon as we can, Dad."

* * *

 **A/N2: Been missin' ya'll. Let me know what you thought.**


	2. Part II

**A/N: Thanks for all the feedback so far! :) Let me know what you think of this one.**

* * *

Part II

When Senior had suggested that they upgrade to business class, Tony had scoffed at the idea. He'd flown across the Atlantic on more than one occasion in nothing more than the jump seat of a military aircraft. He didn't _need_ a business class seat.

 _Tali_ might, Senior had offered.

And so Tony had agreed and sitting in the spacious cubicle with Tali nestled into his side, he couldn't help but admit that the extra space _did_ make things just a little bit easier.

He used the in flight wireless to send a text to Senior.

 _Gotta admit, business class is better. Thank you._

Tony ran his fingers through his hair. Tali – Talia, he assumed – bore a striking resemblance to her mother. Not that he expected anything less. But it was more than just her smile and those irresistible curls. Tali _was_ Ziva.

It was the way that she smiled and the way that she laughed and the way that she looked at him like he was the most important person in the world.

And yet, Senior was right. She was his, too. From the moment she had first walked through that door, he had known, beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was his daughter. He didn't need Orli's assurance.

She had his eyes. She had his nose. And the mischievous twinkle in her eyes. That was all him. And the look she got on her face when everything in front of her was too much to bear. Well, that was Tony _too_.

The plane hit a spot of turbulence and Tali awoke with a start.

"Shh…It's okay, baby girl." He said. "It's just a bump."

"Bump?" she asked.

"Mhmm," He assured. "Like on the road." He tried to show her with his hands. He wasn't sure if she understood, but she smiled, giggled at him and began to settle down.

He dragged his hand up and down her back until she nestled back into his side and went back to sleep.

He didn't know if Ziva had taught her any English or if they only spoke Hebrew at home. She seemed to understand him when he spoke to her. Tony hoped that she knew what he meant when he told her that he loved her and that he was never going to miss another two years of her life like he'd missed the first two. He was never going to miss _anything_.

And that was when Tony realized that he wasn't afraid of being a single Dad.

He'd balanced chaos before. He'd made time for things that he didn't need to. He could certainly handle this. He could make time for the most important person in his life. What scared Tony DiNozzo was what Tali would be missing out on.

She _needed_ Ziva.

She needed Ziva to ease her fears. She needed Ziva to make her strong – to help her understand, to make sure that she knew how to love. She needed her Mother and Tony needed her _too_.

Tali deserved to see with her very own eyes how much her parents loved her – how much they loved her _together_ and how much their love of simply being together impacted everything they did.

* * *

It was raining in Paris when they arrived. And he wasn't sure if it were the weather or the reality of the situation that changed Tony's outlook on things.

Suddenly all of this seemed so fruitful and unrealistic.

Perhaps it was the way that that Paris glistened in a different way than it had the last time he had been there. When he and Ziva had been in Paris, he swore Paris had sparkled. Now, he was every building was shedding a tear.

 _Yes, she's dead_. Gibb's words echoed in his mind. Orli had said that Tali had been the one pulled from the farmhouse and yet, she had no scratches on her, none of her clothes had soot on them.

He went through everything that Orli had said, everything they knew. Tali's room was in a different corridor, but he remembered the farmhouse. It wasn't large by any means. There was a distant stretch of two or three rooms on the north side of the house that Ziva had told him were for Eli's protection detail or assistants, but they were removed from the master bedroom. Ziva wouldn't have been so far away from Tali. That he was sure of.

It didn't add up. He knew Ziva, he did. He knew how she thought and how she acted. Something wasn't right.

Tali napped during their taxi ride from Charles de Gaule airport to the hotel. He held her tight to his side, terrified of the fact that she was in a moving vehicle without a car seat. Tony felt horribly inept. Did her stroller turn into a car seat? He had no idea.

Upon arrival, he carried his sleeping Tali into the hotel and quietly checked in at the front desk. His French was a little rusty but it seemed that they had been expecting him.

"Here is the room key." The man said in French. "Mrs. Ranier says you will only be here for one night. Is that correct?"

Tony nodded, though he had no idea what the man was referring to.

It seemed Ziva had a plan.

He slipped the key in his pocket and headed for the elevator. Tali had begun to stir and shift in his arms and so as he waited for the elevator to arrive, he smoothed her hair and fixed her jacket. He didn't want Ziva to think that he hadn't been taking care of their little girl.

And then, without even realizing it, he was walking down the hallway to her room. Room 510 was merely steps away from him and suddenly the world felt like it was spinning.

"You ready Tali," he whispered, slipping the key into the electronic lock. He pushed the door open.

He was about to set Tali down on the ground, assuming she would want to run to her mother when he realized the hotel room was empty.

He held onto Tali and shut the door behind them. It was as if the whole universe had collapsed. She was _supposed_ to be there. She had to be.

His stomached plummeted and the hair on his back stood up. Tony turned from side to side. Were they being set up? What had he gotten their daughter into?

Reaching for the light, he took one more survey of the room and that was when he saw the envelope – propped up by pillows at the head of the bed. There was no writing on it and yet, he knew it was for him.

He set Tali down on the middle of the bed and reached for the envelope. The sight of Ziva's handwriting calmed his nerves. They weren't being set up. Ziva was sending them on a wild goose chase . . . But she was _alive_. And chase they would.

 _Daily Departure: Paris Gare Lyon Station 8:07am Arrival: Perpignan 1:28pm._

He flipped the note over and found more writing on the back.

An address in Perpignan, the small metropolitan area in the south of France.

* * *

"Okay, Tali," he spoke, handing her Kalev as he buckled her into the train provided child seat. "We're going on another adventure."

"Ima?" she asked. She hadn't stopped asking for Ziva since he mentioned her as the reason why they were on the plane.

He kissed her cheek. "Maybe, baby."

"Ima on train?" she asked.

Tony shook his head. "No." he said. "Ima's not on the train." He paused, not knowing what to say next. "Ima's lost." Explained Tony. "We have to find her."

Tali's eyes went wide. "Ima lost?" Asked the little girl.

Tony worried that he had upset her. He backtracked. "Like hide and go seek." He covered his eyes and made peak-a-boo noises. "We have to find her. It's a game."

She smiled. "Aba and Tali find Ima." She squealed.

"Yes," he agreed. "That's right, Talia. You and me are going to find Ima."

The conversation seemed to satisfy her and she settled into flipping through and coloring the book that they had picked up at the train station. Only a child of Ziva David would be able to concentrate and sit still at such a young age.

She fell asleep against him almost as soon as the train got up to full speed. Tony wasn't used to being tied to a specific seat. His legs begged for him to pace the aisle, to survey the other passengers and make sure the he weren't being followed. But he wasn't going to leave Tali and he wasn't going to pace the train with her.

So he sat and watched as the French countryside went by. He exchanged a few texts with McGee and updated him on the situation. McGee's well wishes calmed him for a few moments and a pang of guilt chimed within him. Maybe he _should_ have let the Probie come. He could certainly use someone to talk to. Not that he didn't enjoy his conversations with Tali. He did. They were always the highlights of his day and her understanding was impressive for a child of her age. He'd done some online research to support his theory that she was a child prodigy. As if their kid could be anything but?

The train brought Tony and Talia to the center of Perpignan. The colorful historic buildings and garden lined canals guided the slowing locomotive toward the station. _So this was where Ziva had been spending her time._ He imagined her days spent strolling along the canals, quietly ducking into the museums or old Cathedrals.

The sun was shinning when the father and daughter emerged from the station. He pulled the awning over the stroller, giving Tali some shade. The address was only two blocks from the city center and so he set off, hopping that he wouldn't be too sweaty when he saw Ziva.

The streets became narrower as he got closer and closer to the address. Long and crowded boulevards gave way to residential streets with steep walk-ups. Soon, he and Tali were on a small alleyway lined with colorful doors and fire escapes adorned with drying laundry.

The fourteenth door was peach and he momentarily allowed himself to imagine the joy that he would feel when she opened the door before him and this became in fact a nightmare and not his reality.

But it wasn't Ziva who opened the door. And suddenly, in the millisecond before his heart sank with disappointment again, he was back in the pool of the Embasero hotel, Ziva's cousin or friend or former lover swimming laps.

He did not know the woman who answered the door, but from the look on her face, she knew him.

"Bonjour, Tony." She said. She smiled warmly and then bent down to greet Tali. "I've missed you little one. You've grown so much." She spoke with a French accent, but one that was learned and not innate.

"I…um…" Tony struggled with what to say.

"Come in, come in, please." She opened the door further and ushered them in. "I'm Angelina," she said. "Angie," And there was a knowing look on her face. "There's no need to panic. I've known Ziva since we were children. We reconnected when Talia was born. I'm the only one who knows where she is."

"Care to share?" Tony did not mean to be short with his newfound host, but this whole situation was a bit much for him.

Angie laughed. "You are just like Ziva described." She said. "I have always wondered how she fell in love with you but…it is clear looks had a part in it." Tony didn't have the bandwidth to process any of Angie's comments aside from the fact that it seemed everyone _but_ him knew Ziva was in love with him.

Angie shut the door behind them and led father and daughter into her living room. "You have to stay here until we're sure you weren't followed." She said and suddenly Tony felt he had a small window into Ziva and Angie's relationship. Angie was suddenly all business. She drew the blinds on the small window in the living room and then checked the lock on the door that led to the fire escape.

Maybe she and Ziva _were_ related.

"Can I get you anything? Coffee? Food?"

"Ziva's not in danger anymore. The threat has been eliminated."

Angie nodded and sat down on the couch. She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I did two years in Mossad Special Forces, Tony." Her voice softened. "I know you wouldn't be here if it weren't safe, but I promised Ziva that I would not send you until the morning – until we were beyond sure."

Tony sighed and there was a pause. "So she's alive then?" He looked around the room and then sat down himself, Tali staying anchored to his side.

"You seemed to already know that."

He swallowed. "Hearing it from someone else is different."

"She's well," Angie answered his silent question. "She is lonely and afraid that you will never forgive her but she is well."

"I'm not mad," he said.

"Likely hurt though."

"And … confused." Tony supplied, gesturing to the room around him.

Angie nodded and rose from the couch. She pulled a photo album from her bookshelf. She flipped halfway through the book before handing it to Tony.

"Proof that I am friend not foe." She answered to his raised eyebrow.

Tony stared at that picture. Seventeen year olds Ziva and Angie stood in their fatigues. Machine guns in both of their of hands. The desert landscape behind them. They looked so young, so impressionable. So unprepared for what they were about to witness.

"It was when we graduated from basic training." Angie supplied. "Our mothers were good friends and my mother tried her hardest to look out for Ziva after Rivka died." She paused. "Eli made that a bit challenging."

"I can imagine."

"It's been hard to stay in touch," Angie said. "I've been in France for more than five years. I've only been to the States once, but Ziva always tried." She sank down next to him and looked at the picture. "I think it is because I'm one of the few left from before everything got so out of hand."

"And now?" Tony asked.

"I guess…I'm why you're all in Perpignan," she supplied. "She needed someone and I'm…safe, but…removed."

"You've been in Perpignan for five years?" Tony asked.

"It's a hidden treasure," she explained. "Not boring, but not all together exciting, either. It's what I needed after Mossad."

It was mid-morning when Angie drove them up the coast. The sun was on its way to being high in the sky and Tali was beaming with all the energy of a new day.

Ziva, Angie explained, had settled on the outskirts of a port town. Port Vendrés was just a little more than a half hour south of Perpignan. It was quiet and unassuming and yet, it was accessible and not isolated. Perpignan gave her rail access to Paris while Nice and Barcelona were only a couple hours to the north and south. It was just what Ziva wanted. Why and for how long were questions that her old friend felt wasn't her place to answer.

Angie wound them down the coast, showing Tali some of the sights along the way. She pointed out the light houses and the boats and fishing docks. Tali giggled with her face pressed up against the window, repeating the words coming from Angie. Tony sensed their bond and he wanted to ask just how much time they had spent together, but Angie had been quieter this morning than the night before.

They came through Port Vendrés, its streets lined with restaurants and cafes, and then exited the town center to move further down the road. The beach was filled with vacationers and in the outer harbor a cruise ship was docked. It was idyllic – so far from what Ziva had imagined for herself. The thought filled Tony with a bittersweet mixture of hope and regret.

As the road came back along the coast, Angie pulled off to the side – a tiny dirt road lay on their left.

"My car can't make it down there," she said.

He thanked Angie and said he hoped they would be seeing her again soon – once all of this was somehow figured out. She nodded and Tony again sensed that she knew more than she let on. He slung one of their bags over his shoulder and took Tali's hand. Once they had crossed the road, Tali broke free of his hand and skipped her way down the gravel road. She thought they were on an adventure and was squealing for all the world to hear.

She lost a shoe somewhere along the road, though it didn't slow her steptand Tony scooped it up, calling after her to come back to him.

It was the second house from the corner – the yellow one. That's what Angie had told him. A small French bungalow covered in ivory and lined with gardens of overgrown flowers. There was no car in the driveway, but he didn't doubt that she was there.

"Tali-too," he called and she turned. He scooped her off the ground and settled her on his hip. "I think this is It.," he said. "Are you ready to see Ima?"

"Ima." And that was when they saw her.


	3. Part III

**A/N: My sincere apologies for the delay. It took me a while to get this where I wanted it.**

* * *

 **Part III**

He had not seen her in almost three years and yet, she took his breath away.

In a split second, all the memories, all of the emotion, it all came back to him.

 _Ziva_.

He let go of breath that he hadn't known he'd been holding since he set foot on that airplane more than two and a half years ago.

She came around the corner of the house slowly and timidly – scared of what she would see. The wind blew her hair across her face and her eyes darted for Tali.

"Ima!" Tali screamed and Tony set her down on the ground as she squirmed in his arms to reach her mother. As soon as she hit the ground, she was in Ziva's arms.

He had never seen so much emotion as he did watching Ziva pick their daughter off the ground and swing her in her arms. Tears of overwhelming and all-consuming joy welled in her eyes and strewn down her face as she told Tali how much she had _missed_ her and just how _happy_ she was to _see_ her.

And it brought tears to his own eyes. How had Ziva sent this wondrous little girl halfway across the world without ever knowing when she would see her again?

Tony stood towards the head of the front walkway, not really knowing what to do with himself. This was a moment between mother and daughter and just where he fit in the equation…he still wasn't sure. So he set their bags down on the ground and stuffed his hands in his pockets and he tried to pretend that this wasn't the most overwhelming moment of his life.

Ziva shifted Tali to her hip and took her first step toward Tony. "Abba took good care of you, hmm?" She commented. At the sound of Tony's name, the little girl's head whipped around and she outstretched her arms towards her father. And for the first time in what Tony swore was a lifetime, he and Ziva locked eyes.

He was sure that he had undergone a lifetime without her, but in that first millisecond when their eyes met again, it was like no time had passed at all. Here was Tony with his Ziva and a flood of understanding passed between them.

Tony smiled sheepishly and reached for his daughter, though he barely took his eyes off her mother. Already, part of him had felt empty without Tali in his arms. He had become so accustomed to their newly formed routine. It had been he and Tali against the world.

"Did you like the airplane?" Ziva asked, tucking some of Tali's hair behind her ears as she settled on her father's hips. "You and Abba have been on many adventures, yes?"

Tony cleared his throat. "What were we doing, Tali?" He asked.

The little girl's face lit up with realization and she looked from her mother to her father and back to her mother. "Find Ima!" she clapped.

"We did, didn't we," he said and his eyes moved from Tali's to Ziva's. _This_ was his move.

Ziva's eyes filled with water once again. She kissed Tali on the cheek, choking out a quiet. "Yes, you did." And her arm shot out towards him in a desperate attempt to pull them together.

Never one to let her fall, Tony took her hand and wrapped it around his back, pulling both of his girls into his arms. The contact between them was so much for both of them. Tears rolled down Ziva's face. Tony himself had been overcome by the feeling of living and breathing Ziva in his arms and he found his hold on her tightening, worried that she would somehow slip right through his fingertips.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered over and over.

He nodded against her and whispered soothingly. "It's okay, Zi. We'll figure it out."

She nodded against him and stepped back. Taking Tali back into her arms, she motioned towards the cottage. Tony picked up their bags and followed her inside.

* * *

The house was bigger than it looked. From the outside, it was just a cottage, but upon entry he realized just how expansive it was. The entryway gave way to a large, open kitchen and living room. It was French through and through with muted tones and ornate furniture. The back wall was lined with windows and through them he could see the surf crashing on the beach below.

"Are you hungry?" Ziva asked Tali.

At the little girl's nod, Ziva pulled a tub from the fridge and doled out some grapes. She hummed quietly through the motion

"And you, Tony?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I'm good. Thanks," he said. "You're…um…friend Angie really took care of us this morning."

Ziva smiled warmly at the image. "I think she wishes she had more people to cook for. It makes her happy."

Tony nodded and stared at Ziva through weighted silence. They could talk about Angie all day and night, but it would simply avoid the pressing topic at hand.

She bit her lip for a moment before setting Tali at the kitchen table and whispering something in her ear. She turned to Tony and took two paces towards him.

"I …am… _afraid_ to talk about things in front of Tali," she said. She glanced nervously over her shoulder back at Tali, unwilling and unable to meet his gaze.

"Do you think I'm going to yell and scream?" And he wasn't sure how much of that question were serious.

"It would not be unwarranted."

Tony rolled his eyes. "But that's never really been my style, has it?"

She shook her head and then opened and closed her mouth several times. She struggled with words. "Tony, I just…I can't…not yet." She looked back longingly at Tali. "I just want to be with her."

She waited for him to speak, but he said nothing and so she turned back to Tali and stroked her hair. Tony approached the table slowly before taking a seat next to the little girl. He picked up a grape and held it above his mouth. Tali's eyes went wide. And then he popped it into her mouth. And she giggled.

"Silly!" the little girl exclaimed.

And watching the interaction so natural and so easy between her baby girl and Tony, something let go inside of Ziva.

So they sat and once Tali finished eating, Ziva asked if she would like to see the big waves, like the ones at the beach in Haifa and Tali lit up, squealing "I-fa" as she hopped out of the chair.

Tony and Ziva didn't talk as Tali splashed in the waves and pulled rocks and shells from the sand. They talked to Tali and they talked about Tali but they never really spoke to each other. And yet it was clear as the cloudless day that whatever happened between them in the coming hours and days, they would always be there for Tali – _together_. And so they took turns guiding her over rocks and scooping her up when the terrain dwarfed her little body. And she brought them shells and sea glass and they ooh-ed and ahh-ed.

Tali tired early in the afternoon. She became cranky and a wayward wave almost led to a meltdown and so Ziva remarked how it might be time for a nap and Tony was quick to agree.

So they scaled the rusted old stairs back up the cliff, Tali, holding onto each one of their hands as they weaved through the flora and fauna that led them back to yard of the cottage. The sun was high in the sky and sweat was beginning to pour off of Tony's forehead, but the women in front of him seemed to be unfazed.

At the gate, Tali sank to the sandy grass, a meltdown threatening to overtake her for the second time in less than five minutes. Ziva squatted down beside and pulled her into her arms, murmuring quietly into Tali's ear. "Are you tired, my love?" she asked.

* * *

"Well that was… _easy_." Ziva remarked. And if was the first time that she had spoken directly to Tony all afternoon. She pulled the door of Tali's room shut, but not before stealing another look at the sleeping two year old.

"Yeah," Tony nodded. "I don't know if it's all the travel…maybe she just likes having to pairs of eyes on her." His voice fell off at the end, realizing that his own thoughts of how both of their presence clearly calmed their daughter might be too much for both of them to process right now.

Ziva ran a hand through her hair and tried brush off the comment. "They say children are adaptable, hmm?"

She turned towards the spiral staircase, but Tony's hand landed on her shoulder. It made her shudder.

"Can we talk?" he whispered. " _Please_."

Ziva rolled her shoulders and looked toward the windows. "Tony," she began.

"Come on," he said. "This," he motioned between them, "this is painful."

She turned towards him and her eyes fluttered shut. She sighed. "How will I ever justify keeping her from you?"

"You can't." He spoke quietly.

And she deflated.

"But you can tell me how it all happened so maybe I can understand."

She bit the corner of her lip. "It is long."

He chuckled. "Ziva, we have time."

Ziva contemplated his words for a moment, before making her way to the end of the hallway and sinking down into the padded window seat that looked out to the ocean. "I am going to become upset," she warned.

He approached her slowly and took a seat on the ground below her. Tony turned and looked up at Ziva. "I'm not mad, Ziva. I don't hate you. I'm just _beyond_ confused."

"I know," her voice cracked. "I …cannot imagine…if the roles were reversed." She shook her head.

Tony let out a sardonic chuckle. "Yeah so who's wining now?" He asked. "I've thought you were dead how many times? Is it five?"

A small smile broke out on Ziva's face. "Tony," she admonished.

"Ziva, come on," he pleaded. "Just try me."

And then she began right where she left him.

* * *

Letting Tony walk up those stairs and onto that plane, Ziva told him, will forever remain one of the biggest regrets of her life. She knew that as soon as he turned and waved to her. But there was no turning back then. She'd left the most important people in her life and the only place that she'd ever been happy. So, tears streaming down her face, she'd set out to fix her life – to atone for her past.

For months she worked odd jobs, teaching English to adult learners in Tel Aviv, working as a personal trainer but neither seemed to work for her. She had no purpose and she unhappier than ever. The teaching was boring and she ended up taking some of her own personal frustrations out on her training clients. It wasn't until she began working as a nanny for a family that she regained some stability and purpose in her life.

It was the woman whom she worked for who first congratulated her on her pregnancy.

Ziva was confused and the woman explained that she could just _tell_. Three days later, the same doctor who had written her a birth control prescription before she left for the IDF confirmed it.

Ziva David was pregnant. And Tony DiNozzo was the only option.

* * *

Almost seven and a half months into her pregnancy, Ziva was put on bed rest for her high blood pressure. Her doctor had implied that she needed a bigger support system. Loneliness wasn't good for the baby. Neither was paranoia.

That was when she and Orli reconnected.

Among those in Mossad, it was no secret that Eli's daughter, the one who'd gone off to the States and never came back, was pregnant and with her American partner's child. Upon learning that her movements would become quite limited, Ziva decided she needed to ensure her and her soon-to-be born child's safety and security.

That was where Orli came in.

At first, their relationship was simply utilitarian. Ziva would allow Orli restricted access to Eli's private files if she provided a Mossad protection detail for the couch-ridden former assassin.

Through Orli's research, however, she and Ziva formed more of a personal bond. They were both fiercely independent and determined to all that they could on their own with no help from anyone else. Eli had always weighted heavily on their minds, both woman having had a tumultuous relationship with him.

Through Tali's first year, Orli was a common fixture on the grounds of the old farmhouse. And so when intelligence came through that someone was targeting Eli's private files, Ziva and Orli began a contingency plan. Orli felt the threat was relatively minimal, but Ziva was unwilling to take any chances with Tali's safety. And so she called one of her oldest friends, she called Angelina.

Tali knew Angelina. She and Ziva had visited a couple of times and her life was mundane enough for it to be safe. And so at the end of April, Ziva brought Tali to Rome where they met Angelina. And that was the last time Ziva had seen her baby girl until just this morning.

Orli and Mossad had planned to give Ziva advance warning of the attack – she would wait it out in one of the sheds and help Mossad identify who was after Eli's personal notes, but they had missed something along the way. Mossad never saw Ghazi Farsoun coming. He wasn't on their radar. They'd been tracking a North Korean defector turned assassin for hire.

The news hadn't been a smoke screen. Ziva _was_ in the house when it blew up. _She_ was the survivor pulled from the rubble. A broken rib and a concussion, Ziva had been livid when she spoke to Orli from the Mossad safe house.

They had been blindsided she had spat. Had Tali been there…Ziva couldn't even think about that possibility. Orli knew the devastating possibilities; she understood Ziva's anger. And so Orli had agreed to become an accomplice to Ziva's elaborate plan. They had to find who was behind the hit and they had to make sure that while doing so, both Tali _and_ Ziva were safe.

So Orli came to Perpignan. And she picked Tali up and brought her to safest place in the world – her father's arms.

It wasn't the introduction that Ziva had been planning. No, she'd been working up the courage for almost a year to pick up the phone and asked Tony if they could meet somewhere – if he could come there or she could go to him. She would do anything.

But all of that had gone out the window. Tali needed to be in the protection of someone who loved her as deeply as Ziva did – even if they did not know it yet. Ziva didn't know how long they would be apart. It could be days or it could be months. If she couldn't be there, then Tony had to be.

She'd packed the bag for Orli and instructed that it was never to leave Tali's side and that was where she stored the first of her clues.

Ziva had never been in Paris. Angie had brought the note for her. She'd just waited – waited and wondered if he would ever find her. If he would ever forgive her.

* * *

 **A/N2: Let me know what you think! A million thanks for sticking with me on all projects after all that's gone on! ~Cara**


	4. Part IV

**A/N: This one is for you, Gary**

* * *

 **Part IV**

Her head was in her hands when she finished telling him all that had transpired. She seemed utterly exhausted; he could hear it in the way that her voice faded out towards the end.

And he knew that it was his turn to speak. She had laid it all out for him. He had to say _something_.

"I was never mad." He clarified. "I've just been so…so upset, Ziva and so hurt." He ran his hands through his hair and shook his head. The thought of all that had transpired sent a pang through his heart. He wasn't built for this.

She nodded. "I know. Tony, I'm so –"

"Ziva," he cut her off with a sharp snap of her name. "It's not about hiding from Kort or sending Tali to me. That…that, I _get_."

She looked hopeful.

"I just don't get why you had to send her to me in the first place." Tony rubbed his hands over his face and turned to look at Ziva. "I should have been there, Ziva. I should have been there from the start. I should have been there when you were on bed rest. I should have taken care of you. I should have held her when she was born."

"I know." She said.

"You _know_?" he gaped. "Ziva, _please_ stop saying that." Tony pushed himself off the floor, needing some space and began to pace. "Ziva, why didn't you tell me?" He was desperate now. "Had I not made it clear to you _over_ and _over_ that if given the chance, I would do absolutely anything for you?"

Silent tears streaked down his face and if he had turned to face her, he would have seen the she was crying too. The pain throughout the room was palpable.

"You…you were my only good." She explained. She rose and stood before him, taking his hands in hers. She reached up and wiped a tear from his cheek. "The thing that I held on to when everything else fell down. What would I have done if you had wanted nothing to do with us?"

Tony looked down at her and took her face in his hands. "Ziva, come on." He whispered. "How could I want nothing to do with you…let alone that perfect little girl?"

She heaved and a sob escaped her lips. Ziva wrapped her arms around his waist. "But I had pushed you away." Her voice was muffled against his chest.

"Yes," he chuckled. Tony tucked a hair behind her cheek. "Yes, you had and I would have come running back the second you let me."

"I wish I had." She looked up at him and she palmed his cheek. "Tony, I just did not know what to do. I was paralyzed." She pulled back and swabbed at the tears on her cheeks.

Tony nodded though he didn't understand – he could barely wrap his head around her rational, but wasn't that the way that it had always been with Ziva? She had always made his mind spin in circles.

"Tony," she shook her head and shrugged. "I do not know how to make this better, but there is nothing more that I want."

"What do you mean?"

"There were _moments_ ," she said. "Moments where it looked like…like we could have what we both so badly wanted."

He smiled coyly and took a step towards her, cocking an eyebrow, he asked. "And what is it that we want?"

"Tony," she blushed.

"I was thinking about the time we first got Ajay Khan. You fell asleep on my couch…" he trailed off, images floating through his memory. "Curled into my side," he remembered.

"I remember," she nodded. "I want that," she said. "…And more…"

He took another step forward and their lips were so close, he swore it would only be seconds before they touched. And she turned her head to the side and he brought his lips onto hers and it was like color popped back into the universe. It had been so long since he had kissed her, since he had felt this way.

He kissed her once and then twice. And then she pulled back. "We have to be careful," she said.

"I know." He whispered.

They stilled for a moment, foreheads touching, fingers interlinked. The house was silent, the only sound coming from the gentle and distant crashing of the waves on the beach. And then, like clockwork, Tali began to murmur inside of her room.

Tony chuckled, deep and throaty. "She's not a bad interruption," he said.

"You say that now." Ziva remarked.

* * *

It was dark when they began to really talk again. Tali had kept them busy from late afternoon all the way through dinner and beyond. Tony had watched as they made dinner together. Ziva giving Tali little tasks to complete and Tali looking up at her Mom eagerly, making sure that she was being a good helper.

And she was, for the most part.

Through dinner they talked mostly about Tali. They shared the quirks that they had both discovered and how she reminded them of each other. Tali chimed in every soft often with opinions of her own, though they weren't always related to the conversation.

When asked what her favorite animal was, Tali gave a roar and said, "Tigers!" before quickly sinking into her seat and changing her mind to "turts," to which Tony asked if she meant _turtles_ and she nodded, baby ones though, she clarified.

She fell asleep on Ziva's lap not long after dinner. She and Tony were strategically avoiding speaking about anything that stretched past the next twenty-four hours. Ziva had mentioned wanting to show Tali the lighthouse at the edge of the bluff and maybe going down to the fist market.

Tony was quick to take them off on whatever tangent necessary to keep the conversation from getting tough again. He was too happy to simply be in her presence; to be able to just sit in the same room as her and Tali.

But once Tali fell asleep they both knew it was time to finish the conversation that they'd begun during Tali's nap.

Ziva tucked a hair behind her ear. "Have you told Gibbs that you… _found_ …me?" She asked. She pulled a blanket from the arm of the couch and draped it across Tali.

Tony shook his head. "Haven't told anyone." He said.

" _Oh_ ," she said. "I just…assumed that…" she shrugged. "Others were involved in the search."

"Just me and the new partner here." He said. Tony gazed at his sleeping daughter, arms tight around her Kalev. "She's the only team I've got now."

Ziva raised an eyebrow.

"I quit," Tony supplied.

"Quit… _what_?" she asked. She wasn't following.

"I quit NCIS."

"Tony… _why_?"

"I…uh…I thought I was a single father. I couldn't justify putting her in danger of losing another parent."

"So you quit your job." She stated.

" _Ziva_ ," he emphasized, "I had just found out you were dead. Things were… _complicated_."

She inhaled. "I…I do not know what to say."

"It was stale, anyway." He shrugged. "Gibbs and I…I don't know," he said. "He's the Boss, you know, but it wasn't there anymore."

Ziva nodded. She looked down at Tali in her lap and stroked her hair. "She stole your heart quickly, hmm?"

"She's the most amazing little human that I have ever seen."

Ziva closed her eyes momentarily and then stared at Tony. "I will spend the rest of my life trying to make this up to you."

"Torturing yourself isn't good for anyone, Zi." He paused, "But I'm not missing _anything_ ," he emphasized, "ever again."

"Do you want to put her to bed?" Ziva asked.

Tony pushed himself out of the chair and scooped his daughter from Ziva's lap. He knew how hard that was for her. She'd had Tali back for less than twelve hours and Tony knew that her whole being must have ached to hold her forever, but she was trying. He leaned her close to Ziva so that she could kiss her head. Tali stirred just a little before curling onto his shoulder. Running a hand down her back, he started up the stairs and to her room.

* * *

He found Ziva sitting on the top step of the stairs after tucking Tali into her bed. The stairway was narrow, but Tony crowded himself in to sit next to her. He relished being so close to her again.

"I don't think she woke up," he remarked.

Ziva smiled and stole a sidelong glance at him. "She is a good sleeper – always have been."

"Those are my genes, I think."

"Yes," Ziva confirmed.

Tony turned and smiled at Ziva. And for the first time all day, she truly smiled back at him. The silence between them finally seemed companionable and Tony couldn't help but reach for her hand. She gave it willingly, her fingers lacing between his.

"I missed you." She whispered.

"I missed you, too." He said. He squeezed her hand.

"Are you tired?" she asked.

"It's been a long day." He said.

"Will you come to bed?" she asked and it was timid.

He hesitated, mostly out of self-preservation and rolled his shoulders. "Ziva, I – "

"Tony," she stopped him. "Just to sleep."

* * *

It was the middle of the night, Tony was beside her, Tali was safely in her room just down the hall and yet, Ziva was restless. She had tossed and turned for hours and now, at close to three in the morning, she had given up. She pushed the comforter back and turned to Tony. The rise of his shoulders canopied the comforter around her. She hadn't felt this safe in so long.

He'd passed out within moments of hitting the pillow, barely mumbling a word to her before falling asleep. She'd spent hours just watching him sleep, watching the way his eyes fluttered behind his eyelids and his hands reached for her waist every so often. There had been so many moments in the past three years when she had thought that she would never see him again, never feel the delicate strength of his hold around her waist.

And she had mourned that. He was so much to her.

She had waited so long for this moment. To have Tony sleeping beside her, to feel whole again. And to have it finally come, to be here with him now, it was all that she had ever wanted.

Finally, a part of her felt like she truly deserved it.

Ziva slipped out of the room and pulled her rob from behind the door. She padded down the hall to Tali's room. Ziva eased the door open and poked her head in. Tali was curled tightly into a ball, the way she always liked to sleep. Kalev was nestled in her arms and the blanket was bunched at her feet.

She made her way across the room and sat on the corner of the little girl's bed. She'd only recently left the crib. She had forgotten to ensure that Angelina had a crib and so that had been the end of that.

The first night that they were separated, Ziva had called Angelina in the middle of the night on a secure phone from Orli. It was something she had sworn that she wouldn't do – nothing to compromise Tali's safety. But in that moment, all alone at the house that had become she and Tali's haven, Ziva had been struck with anxiety that Tali wasn't ready to sleep in a real bed. What if she fell out? What if she got hurt?

Sitting beside her then, was the first time Ziva had seen her in a big girl bed as they had called it. She stroked her hand up and down her little girl's leg. Of course she had been fine. Angelina said she adapted with ease and Ziva should have expected nothing less, but had been through so much in the last month, more than anyone should in their lifetime, let alone just before their second birthday.

She sat with Tali for some time, but her eyes grew heavy again and no matter how much she wanted to just crawl into bed with her, Ziva was a firm believer that children needed to sleep on their own and so she returned to her own bed just like she would have had Tali do, but not before spreading the blanket back over her and momentarily laying a kiss to the side of her forehead.

Tony was awake when she walked in, his eyes bleary and confused as he searched for his wayward partner. He just couldn't shake the title. That was what she was – in all essences of the word. He pushed himself up when she entered and turned to face her when she sunk back down on the bed with a quiet sigh.

"It's late." He groaned. "Or early."

"I couldn't sleep."

"What's wrong?" he asked and he instinctively moved closer to her.

"Nothing," she shook her head. "Go back to sleep."

Tony reached over and flicked the bedside lamp on. The glowed warmed the room and he knew that look on her face and so he waited. They'd been down this road in the middle of the night on more than one occasion.

"I don't know what to say."

"I doubt that."

"I just…I am so glad that you are here."

"Me too," he reached for her hand and squeezed. "Is that what you wanted to say, though?"

She leaned against his shoulder and sighed. "Tony…what are we?"

"What have we ever been?" he responded and there was a small chuckle in his voice. He raised an eyebrow, but Ziva didn't move and so he settled in for a longer answer. "Ziva, here's the thing," And suddenly he was so very awake and so very serious. "I thought I knew pain when Abby said the Damocles had gone down with no survivors and I thought I knew hurt when you were about to marry he who shall not be named, but having us get so close…so close to actually giving each other what we deserved…and then to lose you to yourself and your past – that tore me apart. And then they told me that you were dead, confirmed a most unfortunate casualty and…I really think I would have died without Tali."

"Tony – " she spoke.

He shook his head. "I just can't go that low again. Not with Tali now."

"So you do not want to try again." She stated. And the walls went up so fast and she pulled her head from his shoulder and moved just a bit away.

"That's not what I said." He inhaled. "I just need you to tell me that all of the craziness, the penance, the martyrdom, the secrets – that it's done."

She turned back to him then and lip was quivering. "I didn't think it would come back like it did this time." And she looked so broken in the moment.

"I know." He said. He moved closer to her on the bed and pulled her into his arms, laying them both down against the pillows. They stayed silent for moments, but their mood soon began to lighten as Tony began to drag lazy lines up and down her arm and so she curled further into his side and wrapped her arm around his bare chest.

"You're more muscular," she giggled.

He gave her a theatrical gasp. "I knew I loved you for a reason."

She turned and her glistening eyes bore into him. "And I love you."

He pulled her mouth towards him and kissed her. She was so much softer than he remembered – so much sweeter. "I have always loved you so much, Ziva."

"I know," she said. "Maybe we can start to…show it now?"

He kissed her again. "Isn't the sleeping toddler evidence that at least once before we've showed it."

She giggled again, all throaty and relaxed. "That is true."

 **A/N2: Probably just one more chapter, possibly accompanied by an epilogue, but not sure yet. Let me know what you thought. Caro.**


	5. The Final Part

**The Final Part**

The thing that drew Tony out of his deep sleep, the thing that brought him to the surface was a faint, but persistent tapping on his nose. Tony was confused. When had that become Ziva's thing? He couldn't say he was fond of it.

He cracked an eye and then realized that she was snuggled behind him, snoring like a drunken sailor. It seemed that the culprit of the nose tapping was a lot smaller than her ninja mother and when Tony opened his eyes, she let out a small squeal.

"Abba!"

Tony tussled her hair and then pulled her onto the bed. "Ima's sleeping," he whispered and pressed his finger to her lips.

She giggled before saying, "Shhhh."

"That's right," he whispered back.

She cuddled into him for a brief moment and Tony basked in the perfection of the instance. Here was his daughter – his smart and intuitive and beautiful daughter, curled into his side and her mother – he stole a glance over his shoulder again, Ziva was face planted into a pillow behind him, her hand curled around his bicep. This was everything he was never sure that he absolutely wanted.

But Tali, being a spawn of Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David, did not stay still for long. And soon she wiggled and giggled and broke free of his grasp, tumbling to her bare feet on the hard wood floor.

Tony sighed, it seemed that he was getting up. He threw one more look over his shoulder at Ziva before swinging his legs over the side of the bed and scooping Tali off of the ground.

"Should we make Ima something to eat?" he asked, carrying her down the stairs.

"Eat!" she exclaimed.

* * *

He was halfway through almost burning a skillet of scramble eggs when he heard her pad into the kitchen. "It heats up quite fast," she advised.

"Yeah," Tony groaned. "I noticed."

Ziva sat down at the dark wood kitchen table and picked up one of the crayons that Tali was scribbling with. She leaned close to her and whispered something in her ear. Tali turned and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Tony turned the stove off and slipped the eggs onto three plates. Turning back to his girls, he set them on the table. "Here we go," he announced.

"Wow, what did Abba make?" Ziva asked.

"Eggs!" Tali announced. "Scambled eggs."

"That's right," Ziva nodded. "Scrambled." She enunciated the word.

"How did you sleep?" Tony asked.

"I did not even know you had gotten up," Ziva said. She forked some of her eggs. "So… well I think."

"Good." Said Tony. "This little rascal," he jokingly glared at Tali, "came into the room around an hour ago. Tried to get her to snuggle with us, but she had other ideas."

"Yes," Ziva hummed. "She does wake up quite happy."

"As her mother seems to have done this morning." Tony observed and he raised his eyebrows at her in what felt like a moment that turned back time to when their bullpen banter and borderline-unprofessional flirting were as common as the sailors they were often trying to avenge.

"Well," Ziva cleared her throat. "I am just…very happy we talked yesterday…and last night."

"Me too." He breathed and his hand slid across the table to cover hers.

"You two," she smiled at Tali and wiped a stray crumb from the side of her mouth, "Are the most important things in my life. All I want…is for us to be together."

"Me too." He squeezed her hand.

She squeezed back and then leaned across the table, reaching her hand up to cup his cheek. She kissed him once, delicately, nervously. But he kissed her back, matched her own pressure and then prodded for more. And when she finally leaned back, he saw the sparkle in her eye. She kissed him again and this time it was long and languid and every time she went to pull away, he pulled her back for more.

If Tali hadn't been sitting next to them, he wasn't sure that they would have ever stopped. But after Ziva side glanced the little girl to her right, Tony drew himself in and after one last, more chaste and restrained touch of her lips, went back to his eggs.

It took them both a moment or two to collect themselves, but after several sips of coffee, Tony cleared his throat. "So what is the plan for today?" he asked.

"What is _your_ plan?" she retorted. The waggle of her eyebrows did little to prevent him from wanting to reach back across the table, but he settled for biting his lip and shaking his head at her. _Oh his Ziva was coming back to him._

"Plan was to find you." He reminded her. "Didn't plan past that. Well," he paused. "Kiss you." He said. "Accomplished both aspects."

"Yes, you did." She said.

"So…"

" _So_ …I was thinking that we could walk down to the lighthouse…spend some… _family time_ ," she tested out the phase, unsure of whether it was too much too soon for him.

" _Family time_ would be nice." He said and he leaned over once again and kissed her. "We've been family for a while, don't you think?" He stayed close and whispered in her ear.

A single tear slid down the side of the cheek. "Yes," she breathed. She ran a hand down his neck. "I love you," she said. "I love you so much, Tony."

Tony kissed the side of her hand as it lay on his neck. "I love you, too, Ziva." He said. "We're going to do it this time. We are."

She nodded. " _We_ are."

"But…um…speaking of _family_ …there _are_ two calls that I really should make… If it's okay with you."

She nodded, though he knew it unsettled her. "I will clean up and get Miss Tali ready."

* * *

He descended halfway down the old wooden stairs to the beach, before sinking down and pulling out his phone. He used to be afraid of telling people things about Ziva. _Where's Ziva? Have you talked to Ziva? Are you going to go see her?_ He was always letting himself and others down when he answered those questions. He didn't know where she was. He hadn't talked to her. He didn't know if he was ever going to see again. But it was different this time. Ziva was here. _He had found her_. They talked, they'd knocked all the walls back down and they were going to rebuild themselves.

And so he was happy. He was relieved to make the calls.

It rang twice and then that familiar and expectant voice popped up on the other end of the line. "Junior," he asked. "Is that you?"

"Me, Dad." Tony responded. And he couldn't help but smile at the old man's familiar voice.

"Where are you?" He asked. "How's Tali? Man, I miss that kid."

Tony laughed. "I…um…I'm sure she misses you too, Dad…though she's a little… _enamored_ by the reemergence of her mother, currently."

" _Ziva_?" Senior asked and Tony could hear him gasp.

"Yeah…" Tony exhaled. "Good ole, confusing, charming, beautiful, living, breathing Ziva."

"Oh Junior," Senior's voice cracked. "I am so happy for you."

"Thanks, Dad. Me too."

"Are you on your way home?"

"Not quite," Tony answered. He shifted on the step. "But…um…we'll get you to your granddaughter soon. One way or another."

"I can't wait to see her." Senior responded and Tony could hear his ear-to-ear smile. "All of you."

* * *

He'd been staring at the sea, watching the waves roll in and out, letting it soothe all the thoughts racing through his mind, for half a dozen minutes when Ziva came down the stairs, Tali on her hip and sat down next to him. "Are we interrupting?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Course not." He tussled Tali's hair and then stroked the side of Ziva's arm. She linked her fingers with him.

"I have to call McGee." He said. "He's…you know…solid and I needed that. He needs to know."

"I … I would like to speak to him as well."

Tony nodded and squeezed her hand.

McGee picked up on the first ring. "Tony," He breathed, "I was getting worried."

"Easy, McPanic." Tony chuckled and he knew that the nickname and the laugh would clue McGee in to at least something. "Someone wants to talk to you."

He looked at Ziva and she nodded and so he handed her the phone and watched as she delicately held it to her ear. "McGee," she breathed. "I…I…Hello."

They sat so close that Tony could hear McGee on the other end of the phone. "I have never been so happy to hear a voice." McGee said.

Her head fell against Tony's shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her. This was everything she had made herself so afraid of. "I am so sorry for it all, McGee."

"Ziva…you're forgiven."

"Will you tell the others?" she asked.

"Not just another partner, right?"

"Yes," she smiled at the thought of their conversation from what now felt like a lifetime ago and a tear streaked down her cheek. "I will…see you soon," she said.

"I will look forward to it."

She handed Tony the phone and he held it against his ear. "We're all good, Tim." He said. "Me and Tali and Ziva."

"Couldn't have dreamed it better, Tony."

"You're telling me."

Tony and McGee shared a few more brief words, with Tony promising to keep him appraised of their plans before he hung up the phone and turned to Ziva. His left arm was still slung around her back.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

She nodded and pressed her eyes shut several times. Taking a deep breath, she shifted Tali onto his lap and then pushed herself up from the step and walked back towards the house.

Tony waited a moment or two, knowing Ziva needed just a second to herself before following after her.

She turned back to him and swiped at her eyes. "Tony, I'm fine," she said. "I just…"

"What did McGee say to you?" He shut the gate to the stairs and approached her on the back patio.

She rolled her shoulders and sat down on the stone step. "He hoped to see me soon."

Tony reached down and tucked a piece of tear strained hair behind her ear. "Why did that make you so upset?"

She pursed her lips. "I am just scared to go back."

The words sent an icy fear down his back. Here it was. This was all going to fall apart again. Ziva couldn't do it. She couldn't stop from running. His grip on Tali tightened and he asked her why she was afraid. He asked her what she was afraid of.

"Gibbs. Abby. Just everything."

"I'd be there." He reminded her. He sat he and Tali down next her.

"I know," she smiled. "Tony, I am still…I still do not know what I am doing. Tali put so much on hold. Sure, I figured out some demons, but some of them are still there."

He nodded, unable to say anything.

"But the biggest thing that she has taught me," Ziva adoringly stroked her hair. "Is that I do not want to be alone." And her voice cracked. "I don't ever want to go back to that place where I thought that depriving me and you of…of this…was for the best."

"Okay…" he said.

"So I'm scared," she said. "But…you'll be there," she shrugged. "Right?"

"I'll be there."

She settled her head against his shoulder and watched as Tali played with the Star of David necklace. They sat in silence, Ziva reaching to lace her fingers through his.

"This rental period ends at the end of next week." She said several minutes later.

He turned his head to look at her. "You were sure we'd find you?"

"You have a good track record." She shrugged. "And I would have just led you somewhere else. I was thinking Switzerland."

"I would have enjoyed Switzerland," he said. "Maybe we should go there."

"It would be our first family vacation," Ziva observed and the thought seemed to excite her. She went silent for a moment. "But I think I want to go home first."

"Where's home?" He asked.

"I am not sure," Ziva admitted. "The farmhouse is gone. Being there with Tali was home. Now," she went on, "I'm not sure. But I think seeing Tali's grandfather would be a good start."

"You want to go to New York?" He was surprised. "See my Dad?"

"Would that be okay?" she asked.

Tony released a thousand watt DiNozzo grin. "I think he'd like that."

* * *

 **And that just might be the Phoof to my Tony/Ziva writing. ~Caro**


End file.
